Consistency and Setup

Consistency

Mew CEL 11
Cram-o-matic FST 229
PokéStop PGO 68
Forest Seal Stone SIT 156
Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186

SeTUP

Pokémon

Octillery BST 37
Lumineon V BRS 40
Arceus VSTAR BRS 123
Oranguru V ASR 133

Supporters

Adaman ASR 135
Irida ASR 147
Arven OBF 186

Prize and Luck Manipulation

Prize Manipulation

Peonia CRE 149
Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146

Evolution and Devolution

Evolution Acceleration

Boost Shake EVS 142
Lugia VSTAR SIT 139
Rare Candy SVI 191

Consistency

Mew CEL 11 helps decks dependent on Item cards find them more easily with its Mysterious Tail ability. When included in a deck, Mew will often be seen alongside a few copies of switching cards, like Switch, Switch Cart, or Escape Rope, allowing Mew to take full advantage of its Mysterious Tail Ability.

Decks that include Mew CEL 11 tend to include 1-2 copies.

Cram-o-matic requires that the player discard an Item card in exchange for a 50% chance to get any 1 card out of the player’s deck. Cram-o-matic works best in decks that need to thin cards out of the player’s hand and/or that find themselves in need a specific card often.

Because of the random chance that Cram-o-matic will succeed or fail, decks that can make use of more reliable search options will generally opt for them instead.

Decks that run Cram-o-matic tend to include 3-4 copies of the card.

PokéStop is an aggressive Stadium card option that helps you to dig for Item cards. Decks often need to be built with PokéStop in mind, using additional recovery and Item-based search options to mitigate the potentially devastating effects of discarding the wrong cards with its effect.

Many decks won’t play PokéStop, but those that do tend to play 2-3 copies of the card.

Forest Seal Stone is a once-per-game option to search out any card in your deck in the form of a VSTAR Power provided by a tool card. Because Forest Seal Stone’s Star Alchemy is provided by the tool itself, it also makes it possible to use Star Alchemy even when Abilities are shut off by Ability-denying effects like that of Path to the Peak.

Decks that don’t prefer to use another VSTAR Power, or decks that wouldn’t usually have access to one, are those most likely to make use of Forest Seal Stone. Decks that include the card tend to include 1-2 copies of the card.

Other prints: HS 96, UNB 182, SSH 186

Pokégear 3.0 helps dig just a little deeper in your deck, making it easier to find critical Supporter cards when you need them. Decks that are especially reliant on a specific Supporter card may find themselves wanting to include Pokégear 3.0.

Decks that run Pokégear 3.0 tend to include 3-4 copies.

 

Setup

Pokémon

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Octillery BST 37 is a great inclusion in any deck centered around a Rapid Strike Pokémon. Octillery’s Rapid Strike Search can find any Rapid Stike card in your deck and is usable each turn. This means that each turn Octillery can get you a draw Supporter, an Energy to attach, or a Pokémon to play down, ensuring you have what you need to execute your deck's strategy.

Decks that play Octillery tend to include 2-3 copies of Octillery and 2-4 copies of Remoraid, the Basic Pokémon.

Lumineon V BRS 40’s Luminous Sign ability guarantees that, if Lumineon V’s abilities aren’t shut off by something like Path to the Peak, you’ll have access to any Supporter card in your deck. This can mean that Lumineon V can be the access to the Boss’s Orders you need to finish off your opponent at the end of a game or the Professor’s Research you need early on to get your deck setup.

Decks that run Lumineon V tend to include just 1 copy, but some decks go so far as to include 2.

Arceus VSTAR BRS 123 and its Trinity Nova attack not only do respectable damage, but work to power up any Pokémon V (including Pokémon VSTAR, Pokémon V-UNION, or Pokémon VMAX) you have in play—whether that’s another Arceus V or VSTAR, or some alternate attacker, Trinity Nova ensures that your deck will have the Energy attachments it needs to keep its strategy flowing.

What’s more, Arceus VSTAR’s Starbirth VSTAR Ability gives you a once-per-game option to get any two cards from your deck that you may need. This helps to guarantee you have what you need when you need it—an extremely welcome option for many a deck.

Decks that include Arceus VSTAR tend to include 2-3 copies of the card.

Oranguru ASR 133 is a slow, but useful option if your deck must absolutely seek out Pokémon Tool cards as a critical part of its strategy. However, as a two-prize Pokémon, it’s also true that there are likely better options to keep in your deck to help you find your tool cards, including Irida and general draw cards, like Bibarel.

Most decks will not play Oranguru ASR 133. Those that would want it would be unlikely to want more that 1-2 copies of the card.

Supporters

Adaman, for the cost of discarding two Metal Energy cards and burning your Supporter card for the turn, gets you any two cards out of your deck and puts them into your hand. If the cards you need aren’t Supporter cards, this can be an especially helpful option.

Decks tend not to run Adaman. However, decks that find themselves wanting such a card would likely run 3-4 copies of the card.

Irida is a potent Supporter-based search option for decks that include a Water-type Pokémon, like Radiant Greninja. Decks that run more Water-type Pokémon naturally benefit the most from the card’s Pokémon search effect, but Irida’s secondary effect—searching for an Item card—can also prove especially helpful, grabbing important pieces from your deck when they are most needed. This can mean finding an important tool card or grabbing a Rare Candy when the time is right. Although not every deck can make good use of Irida, it’s not a card that should be ignored.

Decks that run Irida tend to run 3-4 copies.

Arven is a card that doesn’t fit every deck, but can be an especially helpful inclusion in the right deck.

Decks that run Arven tend to include 1-2 copies of the card, often in conjunction with Lumineon V so that Arven can be found with its Luminous Sign Ability. Decks that don’t run Lumineon V may run an extra copy or two.

 

Prize and Luck Manipulation

Prize Manipulation

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Peonia serves as a way to look at three of your Prize cards and gives you the chance to fish out critical 1- and 2-ofs from those three Prize cards. Peonia also serves as a means of ensuring that certain cards are in your Prize cards like, for example, cards that have effects that trigger only when taken as a Prize card.

Most decks don’t run any copies of Peonia.

Hisuian Heavy Ball can be a handy means of fishing out basic Pokémon from your deck that are run at low counts—just one or two copies. This means Hisuian Heavy Ball can find tech Pokémon, a deck’s lone Radiant Pokémon, and a deck’s critical Basic Pokémon in situations where prizing especially atrocious.

Decks that run Hisuian Heavy Ball tend to run 1-2 copies of the card.

Evolution and Devolution

Evolution Acceleration

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Boost Shake functions as an additional Pokémon search card that forces Pokémon to evolve when they would not otherwise be able to, because of game rules.

Because Boost Shake ends your turn, many decks won’t try to make use of Boost Shake and will instead opt for other search cards, like Evolution Incense. Decks that do use Boost Shake use it primarily to take advantage of disruptive effects on an evolution Pokémon.

Lugia VSTAR SIT 139’s Summoning Star is a once-per-game effect that pulls two Colorless Pokémon without a Rule Box from your discard pile and puts them directly onto your Bench. This makes it possible to pull Evolution Pokémon, like Stage 1 and Stage 2 Pokémon, from your discard pile directly into play. Decks can make use of this by pulling in Pokémon with very strong Abilities into play—indeed, Lugia VSTAR’s most common partner is Archeops SIT 147, whose Primal Turbo Ability searches your deck for two Special Energy cards and attaches them to 1 of your Pokémon.

Decks that include Lugia VSTAR tend to include 2-3 copies of the card, in addition to 4 copies of Lugia V, the Basic Pokémon.

Because it shortens the number of turns required for a Basic Pokémon to become its fully-evolved Stage 2 Pokémon, Rare Candy is a staple card for nearly all decks that run them. Rare Candy effectively negates the need for most Stage 2 decks to include copies of the Stage 1 Pokémon in that Pokémon’s line. Decks that run Rare Candy will often omit the Stage 1 completely—or include only 1-2 copies of it in addition to Rare Candy.

Decks that include Rare Candy include 3-4 copies.